Question about "Are you an author".

[Tiffany Dowell]

So, yes, I did at one time write. No, I have not published anything I have ever written. If you google my name, or my nickname, or almost anything you know about me, it would be a task to find anything I have ever written, and I like that just fine because I don't write for other people, even though I have shared my writing with individual people for review at times, which again, the reviews have never been shared publicly either.

Which means, do I list myself as an author or not an author? Should I be under "reviewer" or ARA?

[Sharron L Hillman-Dwyer]

I wrote for years with out publishing. I tried sending a few stories to traditional publishers and was rejected. When I decided that self publishing wasn't cheating and believe me it isn't. I finally published my book called David's Space Flight Waking Up. Although, now I am considered an author. I still don't think of myself as an author. I'm a person who enjoys writing among other hobbies and interests.

[Sharron L Hillman-Dwyer]

I guess you should list yourself with what you feel comfortable with.

[Tiffany Dowell]

My problem is I am way too hard on myself with my own writing, to the point that I don't finish things, or if I do I never feel like I'm ready to release it, or I feel like I don't have the time and focus to sit down and do it to the standards I want to do it, it's all just the same old blah blah blah crap that, well, every writer will tell you, knock that crap off or you will never go anywhere with it. What writer hasn't fought that battle lol? Since I haven't FINISHED a book, (ok, I finished a collection of poetry and one short story I wrote in high school, which was the final for a creative writing class), I don't think of myself as an author since I haven't done it "all the way through" yet, as in wrote, edited, rewrote, review picked, rewrote, and officially published.

[Diana Lowery]

My problem is I am way too hard on myself with my own writing, to the point that I don't finish things, or if I do I never feel like I'm ready to release it, or I feel like I don't have the time and focus to sit down and do it to the standards I want to do it, it's all just the same old blah blah blah crap that, well, every writer will tell you, knock that crap off or you will never go anywhere with it. What writer hasn't fought that battle lol? Since I haven't FINISHED a book, (ok, I finished a collection of poetry and one short story I wrote in high school, which was the final for a creative writing class), I don't think of myself as an author since I haven't done it "all the way through" yet, as in wrote, edited, rewrote, review picked, rewrote, and officially published.

I think (but am not sure) if you identify yourself as an author, you can't be a reviewer.

[Tiffany Dowell]

Yes, you're right, it's more, would the SITE identify me as an author FOR me kind of thing because I personally don't since I have never published or intend to publish anything. So, I didn't want to get called out "oh you said you do write" well, writing and being an author to some people are two very different things. Author, to me, means publishing and releasing a work to the world, not sticking it on a dusty back corner of a pc and the only time it will see the light of day is if your kids are on your pc one day and go "oh here's my mom's writing since she didn't do it". They better not.

[Diana Lowery]

LOL

. . . if your kids are on your pc one day and go "oh here's my mom's writing since she didn't do it". They better not.

I think the question refers to published authors, so you should be safe saying you are not an author even though you are a writer.

[Kaitlyn Wadsworth]

I wrote for years with out publishing. I tried sending a few stories to traditional publishers and was rejected. When I decided that self publishing wasn't cheating and believe me it isn't. I finally published my book called David's Space Flight Waking Up. Although, now I am considered an author. I still don't think of myself as an author. I'm a person who enjoys writing among other hobbies and interests.

If you have self-published (not cheating in my book, no pun intended), you could be in the Author section and get your book read and reciprocate by reading others. The feedback could be helpful.

However, if you have ever had even a draft reviewed by OnlineBookClub, this alone - published or not - makes you an author and banned from doing any book reviews. Get caught, and any reviews you are doing cannot be posted. I had submitted one review before I discovered my non-author claim was a lie. Huge oops! I'd done two reviews at that stage.

The second review I had done, which I could correct, disappeared. (Go to Jail - do not get out treatment) Yet, when you read the severe criticism and review by some reviewers, they are obviously at the level of authors. It should have been obvious that with no published work to date, my claim and the reviewing work done shouldn't have been given the treatment it did.

You are an author.

The whole debacle I experienced (as an 'author', apparently) lost me any hope of free membership after doing soooo much work. I was told if I did two more reviews (of 4 in total), I'd be sweet.
Review 1 - successful

Review 2 - it vanished altogether. The second corrected one couldn't be posted, and I was later told it had been rejected altogether. Despite emails to prove I had the option of fixing it and my concerns over the problems I had checking boxes about profanity or not, requesting assistance before I posted it. (A further delay was because I had been pulled up on another thing - a grammatical issue in which the reviewer of my review was Incorrect!!) Scott agreed then, but when I followed his advice to do the other two corrections and explain my case about the error someone at OBC had made, they discovered I'd put a draft in for review many years before (still unpublished). I was elevated to author and banned from even completing this review. In the meantime, all the time it took left me in the red regarding reviewer points.

2nd review - 2 - of Scotts own book - successful

3rd book review - (number 4, in actuality) wasn't counted because it was from the wrong section. (?) Any emails and explanations were ignored, but it was my fault for being unable to explain my problem in one or two sentences. How could I do that? Can you even understand the convoluted mess I got myself in due to saying I wasn't an author? One sentence to explain it all? My second counted review had been done of Scott's own book 'In it Together'. A successful and positive review. I don't know why I bothered. I wouldn't do another review.

[Tiffany Dowell]

I've never published, self-published, asked for or submitted a review, or had my writing reviewed ANYWHERE, there's a private, locked file of word documents on my pc that are not on the internet at all or been shared with anyone.

[Sharron L Hillman-Dwyer]

I am an author, thanks for letting me know that reviews are a no, no.